The Legend of Zelda: Across the Ages
by writingfanficlikeabus
Summary: A collection of one-shots from across the Legend of Zelda series. Updates irregularly (basically whenever I have a new one-shot written).
1. Letters

**Letters (IliaxLink)**

_**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda is owned by Nintendo**_

Dear Link,

This is probably not going to reach you. After all, the postman isn't some kind of omniscient being; even _he_ admitted to not knowing where you are when I asked him, and it's his job to find people. You'll be glad to know that Epona came back. She was injury-free, so you don't need to worry about being told off when you come back. I know it might take a while to get home now that you don't have a horse, but I can wait. As long as you are coming back. It _has_ been almost half a year. Maybe you just lost track of time. You always used to do that when we were kids.

Colin has grown up quite a lot since you've been gone. He's now made it his job to scout the woods with Talo for any remaining monsters. Well, _technically_ Talo thought of it first, but ever since you had to chase after him on Epona, no one trusts him in the woods on his own, so Colin agreed to accompany him. That day feels so long ago now. It was just before we were captured by the shadow monsters and you started your journey. I suppose after exploring the land you couldn't stand being in our little village. But it's impossible to cut all ties from the place you came from, so I _know _you'll come back. If not for anyone else, then for the children. They all miss you. _I_ miss you.

I wish you had told me where you were going when you left. Then I wouldn't have to worry. But Dad says that I don't have to anyway, because you know I'd kill you if you got hurt. That doesn't stop me. I can't help but worry that there'll be no one left to deliver this message to. Please make sure to write back if you get this letter. The postman will tell me if it's safely delivered, so I will _know_ if you get it and don't reply. It doesn't have to be long. I just want to know that you're safe.

Hope you write soon,

Ilia

Dear Ilia,

It's good to hear from you again. I'm fine (your Dad's right about me being too scared of you to get hurt!), but there's something I need to do, and I can't guarantee that I'll be back any time soon. Give my best to everyone in Ordon, will you? On another note, I'm glad Epona made it back safely. I couldn't bring her any further, but I couldn't turn back either, so I sent her home without me. At least now I have your reassurance that I won't be faced with a death glare when I get home! Well, not from you, anyway. I don't _think_ I've given anyone else a reason to give me one.

I don't have much time to write this (the postman is standing behind me tapping his foot, and he has no other reason to come up this way, so I have to finish _now_) and you know how bad I am at finishing off letters, so I'm sorry if this seems abrupt.

Link

P.S. I miss you too.


	2. Three Kinds of Love

**Three Kinds of Love (ZeLink...ish)**

_**Disclaimer: If I owned LoZ I wouldn't be writing stories on this site.**_

_**(A/N The first part of the story is from a headcanon-thingie I have involving Zelda 1 and Fierce Deity Link, which I'll probably try to fit into canon...somehow)**_

Zelda and Link will always love each other. But just as they change, so does the form their love takes.

_I love you._

"Zelda!" He screamed her name, rounding the corner just as she started falling to the ground. Too late. By the time he reached her, she was already long gone; the curse had taken effect as soon as it was cast. Tears threatened to spill from the corners of his eyes as he cradled his sister in his arms, but he managed to (barely) hold them back. Instead he turned his pain in to anger, and looked up into the frightened and distraught eyes of his older brother. "You!" He spat. "You did this! You brought that magician here and he cursed her. All because you were too greedy to live without the Triforce. No wonder our father didn't entrust you with it! You don't deserve it!"

His brother stuttered out something that sounded vaguely like a weak apology and ran, back to the castle, where he could pretend to be blameless. He watched him go, but stayed by Zelda's side. Soon he would become the terrible creature known as the Fierce Deity, and later still, after his brother erased his misdeeds from history, the Hylians would call him the Hero of Men. But for now, he was simply a brother mourning the loss of his sister to a sleep without end.

_I love you._

Vio was risking his life for Princess Zelda. Fighting giant monsters, solving puzzles and traversing a dangerous land. But he didn't love her. At least, not in the way Green did. Yet, despite his calm demeanour, he was prepared to do anything to save a friend in need. Maybe even die, if the situation called for it. And Zelda was most definitely "in need" at the moment.

_I love you._

It had been a reflex, really. When she held his hand, Link had given it a comforting squeeze, and he was immediately filled with panic. He had just squeezed her hand! The _princess's_ hand! What if someone found out? They could have him thrown in a dungeon. What if she didn't even like him like that?

He was pretty sure he was hyperventilating by the time she turned her head towards him, smiled nervously, and leaned forward to kiss his cheek; suddenly he was soaring higher than Zelda had ever reached as a spirit and his face felt warm and maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all.


	3. In The Green Grass

**In The Green Grass (Spirt Tracks ZeLink)**

**_Diclaimer:Everything still belongs to Nintendo_**

**_(A/N So this one is probably going to be the fluffiest one in here, as well as the longest. Enjoy!)_**

Every so often, on his day off, Link snuck Princess Zelda out of the castle, just as he had done on the first day that they met. Well, sort of. After it had happened a few times, Teacher had figured out that one of the things all Zelda's disappearances had in common was Link hanging around that part of the castle. So now he had to make a special effort not to be seen. Hiding in the hedges where his green tunic and hat were all but invisible. Throwing a bomb to distract the door guards. Then, when he was inside, making sure to walk on the red carpets when possible instead of the loud stone floors, hiding around corners if necessary. He had long since memorised the path to Zelda's chambers, and for whatever reason the guards had not caught on that this the way he used, so he made his way up to an unguarded section of roof. There was no need for carpet here, so as he walked along the thin strip of wall leading back inside, Link made sure to tread lightly and avoid alerting the guards on the grass below. None of them ever looked up of their own volition, but even the green hats pulled tightly over their heads couldn't block out the sounds of booted feet on stone.

Once he was yet again inside, it was relatively easy to reach the princess's chambers. All it took was hiding around a few walls and he was there. The flair and colour of the room looked jarringly bright after the dark stone corridors with their occasional splash of green from the guards. The wooden furniture and the red carpet gave the room a sensation of warmth, helped in part by the fire crackling in the grate to combat the cold morning. Link was always overwhelmed by the regal feel of the room, but his eyes were invariably drawn to the desk. The papers stacked on one side of it gave the impression that the once serious attempt at neatness had long since been given up on. There was a pot of ink balanced precariously on one corner. Seated at the desk was the very person Link was looking for. Princess Zelda. In the past few years, not much had changed in her appearance apart from a growth in height and an almost imperceptible increase in hair length. There were still the big blue eyes, the delicately pointed ears that so few people in New Hyrule possessed. Still the pale blonde hair and the kind smile, kind look in her eyes, kind _everything_. Still the magnificent dress with its many symbols that no one knew the meaning of anymore. (The golden triangular shape particularly intrigued Link. It stood out from the rest of the symbols [which were all red, and not very visible against the blue background], as if it had once, long ago, been important.) Her sensitive ears twitched when she heard Link approach on the soft carpet, and she looked up, flashing him a weak smile. "Link!"

Link grinned sheepishly. "Hey. Ready for another day out? I was thinking that we could go to Papuzia Village when it warms up more, since it's your birthday today, but it's really your choice."

Zelda gave him another smile, and this time he sensed the weariness behind it. She was probably worn out from all the paperwork. Link crossed "swimming in Papuzia Village" off of his mental list of things to do, and firmly decided that Zelda was going to have a day of relaxation whether she liked it or not. "Link, I can't."

He frowned. "But it's your birthday."

"I have lots of paperwork today, Link."

"But it's your _birthday_."

"Today is a busy day for me."

"But," Link waved his arms about, trying to get across in words why "birthday" didn't mean "cooped up doing paperwork". How it meant celebrating, hanging out with friends, doing fun things. But the words weren't there, so he settled for a lame "but it's your birthday..."

Despite herself, Zelda let out a girlish giggle. He had made her laugh. That was certainly a good sign. "Link, you've said that three times. My birthday doesn't make the papers all magically disappear for twenty-four hours."

He shrugged. "Well, whether you like it or not, you're having a day off today. Even if I have to carry you out myself."

"Link, that's kidnapping."

"Mmhmm."

"That's _treason_."

"Yep."

"You could get thrown in jail for that."

"Prison locks hold no power over me. So, are you ready to go yet?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, at this rate I'm not going to get _any_ work done, so-"

"Great!" An eager grin spread across Link's face, and he had grabbed her hand and dragged her over to the door before she had even finished standing up. "So where do you want to go first?"

Link loved riding the Spirit Train, with its red and blue and yellow, and the gold design on the front glinting in the sun. He especially loved riding it with Princess Zelda, because she alway did something she'd never had a chance to as a ghost. She always came up to the driver's carriage to feel the wind on her face, which also happened to have the effect of her getting so close to him that he could feel the warmth of her skin and her breath on his neck; the driver's carriage was, after all, only designed for one. Sometimes he wondered whether she did it _because_ she knew this, or if she considered it a happy side effect of her actions. But he also often wondered whether that was wishful thinking on his part, his mind creating something between them that was, in actuality, non-existent. More often than not, though, he just enjoyed her company and the warmth it brang until they reached their destination. Which, today, was a rather nice grassy area near Rabbit Haven. There was no call for most trains to go through there, so it went relatively undisturbed. Just right for a day of doing nothing.

When they pulled up, the steam from the train made its customary _kshh _sound. It was a nice sound, all things considered, and Zelda had once told him she liked it, so that was alright by Link. The train could go on making its _kshh_ sound for as long as it wanted, so long as both of them enjoyed it. As usual, Link hopped down from the train, then turned to help Zelda. She waved her hand to indicate that she could help herself down, and jumped off the train to stand beside him. Grass waved slightly in the gentle breeze, like an infinity of green dancers swaying to an unheard melody. A short walk from the train was one of the small hills that dotted the Forest Land. Zelda pointed towards it. "Let's go over there! I bet we could see the castle from the top."

Link grinned. "Race ya."

She frowned. "Link, that's unfair. You _know_ how hard it is to run in this dress."

But Link had already set off, so she shook her head and followed him.

By the time she reached him, he was already at the bottom of the hill. Link was leaning over, hands on knees, panting and dizzy. He looked up at her. "Beat...you...ha!.." And with that, he keeled over backwards into the long soft grass. Zelda came and stood over him. "I thought _I_ was the one that needed rest."

"Never...been...healthier!"

She sat next to him, using the hill as a backrest. After a while, where the only noticeable sound was Link's heavy breathing as he tried to get his breath back, he sat up. Zelda had been staring at the train beforehand, so it came as a shock when she reached over and snatched his hat. His head snapped round to face her. "Hey!"

She made sure to hide the hat behind her back as Link lazily tried to grab it. When that failed, he glared at her, although there was no menace behind the stare. "What was that for?"

Zelda reached over to ruffle his yellow hair. "I don't think I've ever seen you without a hat before."

"Well did it occur to you that that's because I like hats? Gimme." He made another pathetic attempt at grabbing it and lost his balance, falling over onto Zelda. There was a silence so awkward that it would have made the most commited extrovert feel uncomfortable. Finally, Link coughed, stood up, and headed back to the train, mumbling something that sounded like "I Ned tgt smfm vroom the turn" but which was probably meant to be "I need to get something from the train". As he shuffled off, Zelda realised that she still had his hat. "Link, you forgot your-" but he was already too far away to hear.

When Link returned, he had a strange, almost bashful look on his face, and one hand hidden behind his back. However, Zelda noticed none of these things; she was mesmerised by the swaying of Link's hair, brought on by the wind. Whilst it _was_ going in the same direction as the grass, it had a less refined look about it. One of the dancers had clearly not only forgotten to learn the dance, but had come in the wrong colour costume as well.

Link cleared his throat, and Zelda broke her gaze from the stray strands of hair to focus on his face. A face which was now blushing as its owner tried to get the right words out. They stayed there for a while, Zelda staring up at Link as his cheeks reddened and his yellow hair swayed and he nervously adjusted the belt on his green tunic. Eventually, Link opened his mouth to speak, but the words tumbled out so quickly that it was an effort for Zelda to understand him. "IwantedtogiveyouflowersasapresentbutIcouldn'tfindanysoIpickedsomegrassbecauseit'syourbirthdayandIwantedtogiveyousomethingandit'sthebestgrassIcouldfindandhere!" And with that he thrust the rather bedraggled strands of grass in her face, waiting for approval. Zelda decided that if she hesitated any longer, Link's face would permanently turn the colour of the Fire Land's soil, so she took the grass and gave him her brightest smile. "Thank you, Link." He audibly breathed out. "Look, the grass matches your tunic!" She held it against the cloth as proof when he sat back down next to her. He grinned. "I suppose it does."

A strong wind blew, and Link automatically reached up to hold on to his hat, only to find empty space. He glanced over at Zelda and found her waving it in his face. "So do you want this back now?"

He shook his head. "Nah, you can keep it. I'm sure it'll suit you."

At this Zelda reached up to place it on her head, and it looked so ridiculous that Link couldn't help but laugh. Soon they had both been reduced to uncontrollable fits of giggles.

Despite how silly it was, Zelda wore the hat for the rest of the day. It was a quiet day for the most part, although at one point one of the Rabbit Haven bunnies landed on Link's head, and they were back to laughing again. The rabbit, for its part, managed to convey as much displeasure as was possible on a bunny face, and hopped away, unappreciative of its constantly moving rest. Of course, this only caused Zelda and Link to laugh more.

It was almost dark, and neither of them had suggested going back. So instead they sat, huddled together for warmth, leaning against the small hill, almost too tired to talk. When Zelda finally opened her mouth, she yawned before speaking. "Do you think we should head back?"

"Nah."

"Teacher will be worried. And Alfonzo will be angry at you."

"We can deal with them tomorrow. All that matters now is that you have a good birthday."

Zelda looked at Link out of the corner of her eye. "Link?"

"Mmnnn?"

"Can I ask you for one more present? I mean, the grass was lovely, but..."

Link turned to her fully now, his eyes trying to prevent themselves from filling with the mists of sleep. Eventually it would prove to be a fruitless battle, but for now... "_Two_ presents? From the same person? They must spoil you rotten at the castle."

"Well..."

"Kidding. Your wish is my command, oh great and glorious princess of New Hyrule."

She took a deep breath. Now was the moment. "Well, I was wondering...oh noble hero...whether you would possibly...um...give me a kiss?"

Despite his sleepy state, Link sat up in shock. "What?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to..."

"Oh, no, no, no." Now he was desperately attempting to put her worries at ease. "I'd _love_ to kiss you!...Wait, did that come out too eager?"

Now it was Zelda's turn to be reassuring. "Of course not." She bit her lip nervously. "So..."

Link nodded, and leaned forward with her, to meet in the middle. Their noses bumped, and they only managed to lightly brush each other's lips in the end, but to two thirteen year olds, on their own in the dark, it felt like the entire world had shifted to contain that much more joy. Still, that didn't stop their tiredness. Soon they were curled up next to each other, using the other as a pillow, Zelda still wearing Link's hat. Undoubtedly, Link would be roughly shaken awake in the morning by a yelling Alfonzo, being told that they had "worried Teacher to death", "caused a nation wide panic" and "put the entire kingdom at risk", but for now, that didn't matter. Because Link had just kissed the princess, and he was now drifting to sleep with her warm body curled up against his.


	4. The Musings of a Shadow

**The Musings of a Shadow**

_**Disclaimer: Everything in this story is owned by Nintendo.**_

Shadow Link was fascinated by Vio. He always seemed calmer that the others. More mature. He was never unsure. Though Shadow was loathe to use the word in reference to any of the hero's four facets, he almost found Vio's quiet determination...admirable. And he felt sure that Vio had cast some kind of spell around himself, for the hero was a light that Shadow was drawn to, despite his disgust at the very word.

Once he started having the dreams, the dreams where they won and Vio ruled by his side, he decided very firmly that neither Lord Vaati nor Lord Ganon was going to hear anything more about that particular hero from _him_. When it came to Vio, he could not rely on his mouth to say the appropriate words. However, that didn't change the fact that he had a job to do, and as he followed the Heroes of the Four Sword around, he found his eyes focusing on Vio more and more. Soon, he had to struggle to tear them away from him.

What had started out as a simple chore, spying on and delaying the heroes as they tried to reach Zelda, became a pleasure. He loved to see Vio musing, eating, smiling, reading. He loved to watch the slight muscles on his wiry frame flex as they fought; it was almost worth the pain of being killed again, dragged from the Dark Mirror into the burning light again. Yet...the light seemed to hurt less now, somehow. Especially the light surrounding Vio. That felt like a warmth he had never known before, and he was not quite sure which of them it was coming from. He was almost tempted to visit Zelda in her crystal prison and ask what she knew of this kind of thing, but he also knew that one who possessed the Triforce of Wisdom wouldn't be fooled with the "so I have this friend" approach. As far as he could tell, _no-one_ had ever been fooled with that approach.

Besides, he didn't _have_ any friends. Vio was the closest thing, and he _hated_ Shadow. But there was still a nagging thought at the back of his mind. _Maybe if he got to know me better, he might want to kiss me. _Shadow blinked in shock from his perch high on Death Mountain. Kiss? When had _that_ happened? When had it gone from "you seem cool, let's hang out" to "I want to touch your lips to mine. There may be some tongue involved"? Maybe it had happened a long while ago. Shadow had to remind himself that he had never gone through what he called "the friend experience"; he had no clue what the appropriate feelings between Just Friends were.

These thoughts only served to fuel his curiosity. One day, with no clue as to why he did it, he left a flower on Vio's sleeping bag. They were in a barren part of the land, and so he had taken the trouble to go all the way to the green groves of the Lost Woods and ask the Deku Scrubs for it. They had agreed ("anything for a servant of Lord Ganon") and given him the flower without so much as asking for its purpose. From there, he placed it on top of the bag whilst the heroes were searching for water and wood. They had left Red on guard duty, but he was tired and so had fallen asleep, the crimson hat that had flopped over his face lifting every time he breathed out.

Shadow watched nervously from a nearby vantage point as Vio returned. Strangely, although his heart was beating faster than ever, he could not help but think how much the purple of his uniform suited Vio. He had made special care to make sure the flower matched for that very reason. It was a nice flower too. Rare. Vio was sure to be intrigued by it. At least, he hoped.

When Vio reached his sleeping bag, he noticed the flower, frowned, picked it up, looked around, and finally smiled with a shrug. It was just a small smile, but it made Shadow happier than he had ever been.

On the day Shadow realised what would happen if the Four Sword was put back in its pedestal, he cried. It was a really inopportune moment as well, because he was doing his long overdue "you can't possibly win" speech to Zelda, on one of his few days back at the Palace of Winds. All of a sudden, as his mind wandered, he remembered something that he had forgotten about with everything that had happened: the Four Sword only split its wielder into four so long as he did just that: wield it. As if that wasn't bad enough, tears started spilling from his eyes. _And_ Zelda looked concerned. She wasn't supposed to worry about him-he had kidnapped her! So he made a pathetic excuse (why was he excusing himself? He was her captor!) and left the room.

Shadow mulled over the inescapable fact. Vio was only one part of a whole, but he was the only part Shadow cared about. If they rescued Zelda, he would be reabsorbed into the annoying hero known as Link. All of this seemed inescapable. He needed more time. He needed to delay them more. He needed Vio, something which he hadn't realised until he had been exposed to him. But powerful as he was, powerful as his _master _was, he knew deep down inside that he could never feel the fullness of that warmth. That warm light he craved so much could never be fully his, for he was a being of darkness, and to be exposed to it was death.


	5. Lonely

**Lonely (Twilight Princess)**

_**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Nintendo**_

_**(A/N Well this one's miserable. Have fun!)**_

It had been a long time since Princess Zelda had cried. It had been a long time since Princess Zelda had shown _any_ kind of strong emotion. No laughter, no shouting, no tears. Only a weak smile here and there, a slight furrowing of eyebrows, and an almost permanent look of silent misery. Not that anyone really noticed. She certainly received pitying looks here and there, but for the most part she was seen as Zelda the princess, Zelda the symbol, and Zelda the reincarnation of a long forgotten deity for those who knew Hyrulian history well enough. Not Zelda the person. Certainly never Zelda, the seventeen year old girl who had to stand against an entire army, who had to decide the fate of an entire kingdom of people on her own. All they saw and would ever see was Princess Zelda: regal, refined and reserved ruler of Hyrule. It was as if there was a wall between her and everyone else; something that had been erected long before her birth and which would be unbreakable even if she tried.

Even when they locked her in the tower, even when the weight of her loneliness was crushing her so that she couldn't breathe, had red spots in her vision, felt sick, she did not cry. Zelda was almost certain that she was being spied upon; she refused to give them the satisfaction of tears. She had no idea how long she had been standing there, looking at what her kingdom had become, when the imp arrived. It was a curious thing, with a grey, intricately designed helmet covering most of its head, including its left eye; orange hair that seemed to flow like lava; pale skin half covered in dark, navy blue, parts; its body, though small, looked like the exaggerated impression of a humanoid woman's. Its one visible eye had a blood red pupil. And it spoke to her. The creature _was_ a she, and she offered to help Zelda. She could bring the chosen hero to her; he had supposedly been turned into a wolf and was now unconscious in the dungeon. All the creature asked for in return was the ability to kill Zant. Zelda agreed, of course. Until she could foresee another option, this was the only choice she had. The creature smiled mischievously and started to leave, but the weight, the longing for company, was pressing down on Zelda again, forcing words out of her mouth. "Wait!" The imp turned around, a questioning eyebrow raised. "What do you want _now_?"

Zelda gulped. She had never once expected _this_ to be the situation in which she asked for a friend. She had never once expected this to be a _situation_. "W-well...I..um..." This was new. She hadn't stuttered in front of anyone for a long time. "Well, it's just...I'm lonely. And you're here. And could you possibly stay for a while? Please?" Her voice had taken on a lilt unfamiliar to her. Pleading.

The imp sighed. "Well I suppose it will be a while before dog boy downstairs wakes up..."

The imp's name was Midna. Midna...Zelda rolled it around on her tongue. It was an uncommon name, not native to Hyrule. But then again, neither was Midna. And perhaps it was rare where she was from as well. She spoke with an arrogance common in the nobility, and she angrily accused Zelda of abandoning her kingdom more than once. Yet it was a strange anger, almost as if she had decided to direct her self-loathing at someone else. Zelda was so fascinated by it that she almost forgot to be insulted. However, she said nothing; she was just glad of the company, a lone comfort in the many dark days that stretched ahead.

So later, far later, when the hero returned with a dying Midna on his back, a Midna with all the bitterness stripped from her voice, who just wanted Zelda to help the hero, she made a decision. Despite Midna's protests, despite the look of confusion and panic in the hero's eyes, she gave Midna her light. For she _knew_, without a doubt, who Midna was, and that she would be far more useful in the coming battles than Zelda could ever hope to be. And as Link prepared to leave the room that had once belonged to Princess Zelda, Midna neglected to mention the fading voice in her head. _You don't understand, Midna. Sometimes Princesses have to make sacrifices. You'll have to learn that if you ever want to rule_.

When Zelda got her body back, one of her first feelings was one of panic, as Ganondorf crushed Midna's helmet, the Fused Shadow, in his hand. After all this, after her sacrifice, Midna had taken the words she had heard to heart. In the ensuing battle, Zelda made sure to aim at Ganondorf where it _hurt_. She reminded herself that princesses do not cry.

But Midna was alive, and she stood tall and majestic in her true form. She swept the breath of both Link and Zelda away, but Zelda made sure to hide it, to remain her normal impassive self. Link, however, stood with his mouth agape, staring up at her, and Zelda couldn't blame him.

Joy was quickly replaced with sorrow and as Midna shed a single tear upon departure, Zelda had to wonder which one of them it was meant for. Maybe it was meant for both of them. Link and Zelda.

Still Zelda did not cry. She did not cry when a friend leaving created an empty hollow in her heart. She did not cry when Link escorted her to the castle and left, back to his village. When one of her advisors asked if everything was alright, the tears did not flow, and she could only nod numbly. When she reached her room and dismissed the guards stationed outside, she held back the tears. It was only when she was inside, on her own, that she allowed herself to curl up on the bed and cry the sorrow out. Cry for the loss of a friend, the only one who could hope to understand her; cry for a lonely childhood full of people telling her not to express herself; cry for her lack of freedom; cry for the decisions that no one so young should have to make. Soon, her mattress was stained with tears.

Tears for the sorrowful princess.

Tears for the lonely girl.


	6. His Darkest Reflection

**His Darkest Reflection (Twilight Princess, Dark LinkxZelda, sort of)**

_**Disclaimer: Nintendo owns The Legend of Zelda, not me**_

_**(A/N Another TP one, this time centring around Dark Link. Also, the part at the end is in reference to a story I'm writing at the moment.)**_

_I am Dark Link. I am the hero's shadow, his darkest reflection. I am everything he isn't, his opposite in every way._

Where Link won, Dark lost. Whereas Link was brave, Dark was cowardly. Link's home was in the light, with the love of all who met him, Dark skulked about in the shadows, his only company Ganon's minions. Link was a hero. Dark wasn't.

But there was one matter that Dark was glad he wasn't similar to Link in. Family. More often than not, Link didn't have a family. Sure, he had friends who cared about him, but no one who raised him, took care of him, did everything they could to make him safe. If by chance the hero _did _have a family, then some terrible tragedy would befall them. Or, in one case, he would leave them as he had an adventure on the high seas that involved a strange dream, a parasitic bug eyed monster that sucked life force, and a whale with bushy grey eyebrows.

Dark had a family. In a way, he reincarnated along with the hero and the princess; every time the hero died, he faded away for a while, and every time a new hero was born, he came back as a baby. Lord Ganon had no time to look after a precocious child, but he recognised the usefulness of the hero's dark mirror image, so relied on his creatures to raise the boy. They didn't raise him very well, but Ganon had no care for the quality of childhood, and it certainly didn't stop Dark caring about them. Sure, the Moblins seemed to share half a brain cell between them, and the ReDeads had an annoying habit of screaming at inopportune moments (and temporarily paralysing everyone in the immediate area as a side effect), but they were family, and nothing would change that.

Until the day where something did. The day where Ganondorf, from his position stuck in the Twilight Realm, sent him to kill Princess Zelda when she was young. He was young as well. Maybe _too_ young. Too young to have had loyalty drummed into his head. Too young for the memories of past lives and other timelines to return to him as they always did. Too young to understand what he could and couldn't do.

There were so many people there that day. Ganon had ordered a Wizzrobe to make sure that Dark blended in. He now had the appearance of a young Hylian boy. A young Hylian boy who had to weave his way through the crush of overexcited people getting ready for the fair, towards Hyrule Castle. Towards Princess Zelda. Dark had just started on this dangerous journey, an eight year old lost in the crowd, when he heard her voice. "Hello?" He started, turned, ready to fight. But what he saw was a girl about his own age. Shoulder length brown hair. Eyes the colour of a cold sea. Plain dress that she probably had taken from someone else's wardrobe, because she seemed unused to wearing something so simple and it was about four sizes too big for her. Blinking nervously. All this Dark took in, before he realised that her face was the same as the one that Wizzrobe had implanted in his mind. _This_ was Princess Zelda. But he couldn't just kill her in the street, with people around, so the dagger stayed hidden in the cloth belt around his waist, and he decided to humour her. "What?" He asked sulkily. She blushed. He didn't understand. Why was she blushing? He had just asked her a question. "Well...I, um, w-well, I was wondering..." She took a deep breath. "I...don't really know my way around town and I was wondering if you could...show me, maybe? If you're not busy."

Dark stared at her in shock. "But you're Princess Zelda! How do you not know your way around town?" He slapped his hand over his mouth. She wasn't supposed to _know_ he knew. Zelda, for her part, lost the blush and gained some fear in her eyes. "You know? Please don't tell the guards!" Well this was his mission going up in flames. He had just been handed his target on a silver platter, the type he imagined Zelda would usually eat off of, as well! Some reassurance was in order. Dark hoped Wizzrobe had made his eyes look friendly enough. "Hey, it's alright. I promise I won't tell on you. To be honest, I don't really know my way here either, but I'll be happy to come with you!" He reached out his hand to touch hers in a way that he hoped came off as comforting rather than creepy. Clearly it worked, because she smiled, and the flames covering his mission were doused. "Sure! What's your name?"

He hadn't thought about that! "Um...Link?" Dark despised having to use the name of the one he had been taught was his enemy, but it was the best he could come up with.

"You don't sound very sure."

"Well, that's definitely my name. Mine and no-one else's. Shall we go?"

Zelda nodded and grabbed his hand so as to easily drag him through the crowd. Dark attempted to ignore the tingling sensation that shot through his body, instead focusing on how he was going to stab Zelda as soon as they found somewhere deserted.

But he never found anywhere deserted to take her. At least, that was his excuse. In all honesty, he had wilfully ignored several prime opportunities. Something was holding him back, and he often found himself watching the shapes her mouth made as she asked him why he was looking at her, rather than leading her down dark alleyways.

Dark had never had fun before. It was a concept both he and Zelda were unfamiliar with; she because of many long hours being tutored in princessdom, he because of the rigorous training Ganondorf made sure he was put through. He supposed that that was the day where both of them enjoyed themselves more than they were usually able to. Yet they would both pay the price eventually. Zelda would be punished for running away from the castle, and Dark would be punished for failing to complete his mission. It was an inevitability that both of them could only delay for so long.

Dark was walking happily along the street, Zelda still clutching his hand tightly to avoid separation, when he became aware of a slowly growing, throbbing pain in his head. Soon, it was so bad that he was screaming and clawing at his head, much to Zelda's confusion. He fell to his knees, Zelda's hand slowly slipping out of his as his disguise melted away to reveal a boy with pitch black skin, clothing and scruffy hair, the only colour his eyes as they glowed like red hot coal. A voice hissed in his head. _You fool. What are you doing? You should have killed the girl when the chance arose! _Dark spoke through gritted teeth. "I know we've never liked each other, Wizzrobe, but this is taking it a bit to far." _Don't you dare speak to me like that! Besides, _here the voice took on a smug tone, _even if you think you're her friend, Princess Zelda sees you as a freak._ Dark glanced at Princess Zelda through pain blurred eyes. She was staring at him as if he was some strange and dangerous creature. Oh no. The only thing left was to beg. "Don't look at me." He turned pleading eyes towards her. Eyes that were already starting to stain with his red tinted tears. "Please, don't look at me. I'm a freak. I'm a monster. Just...turn away and go, now. Please..."

For an eternity wrapped in seconds, Zelda looked like she was going to turn and run. But then a kind smile found itself onto her face, and she reached out a hand for him. "It's alright. I don't mind. You look nice. I think red eyes suit you."

For a long time after that moment, Dark couldn't figure out whether she had done it deliberately. Whether an eight year old had the power to activate the glowing triangular symbol on the back of her hand, had the power to take the ache in his head away when he touched her fingers. But it didn't really matter, in the end. Because in the next second, he noticed the bokoblin archer on the rooftop. A backup assassin, in case Dark failed. By the time the arrow had been let loose, he was pushing Zelda out of the way, the cowardice instilled in him since a young age dissolving in the face of the arrow. The arrow that he had no hope of dodging. It hit him in the shoulder and passed straight through into his chest. He was a shadow; he wouldn't die, but it felt like it in that moment. Dark smiled weakly up at Zelda as she approached. "My..name..is...Dark Link...It...it..was..a pleasure...to meet...you, Zelda. Go...back...to the..castle, now. You'll...be...sa...fe..there.." And with that he faded back to the place underground where the monsters gathered, ready to face his punishment. It was the first time that he had directly worked against his family. A family who would doubtless no longer love him - he had ruined their plan, after all. Yet he regretted nothing, and he never would.

When he met Zelda again, ten years later, after he went on an adventure with her and promptly left at the end because she was a princess and he was her enemy in technicality even if not reality, he made a decision.

_I am Dark Link. I am nothing like the hero I am named after. I will be my __**own**__ hero, even if I have to die to achieve my goal. _


	7. Worrier

**Worrier (RalphxNayru)**

_**Disclaimer: Not mine, Nintendo's.**_

_**(A/N Cheerful stuff! About sharks and bodyguards who worry too much!)**_

Ralph worried. He worried about a lot of things, from the reasonable, to the...more unlikely. _Because_ he worried so much, Din had decided to make a list. She had also tried to convince Farore to add said list to the history books.

"But it's not history!" Farore insisted.

Din crossed her arms and leaned back on her chair. "Yes it is. Everything is _history_."

"Fine then, but it's not _important_ history."

"Of course it's important. We-and by we I mean you-can put it in a chapter called "That One Lifetime Where Nayru Had A Boyfriend Who Worried About Everything"."

Farore tapped her chin. "Y'know, I asked her about that. She said he wasn't her boyfriend."

"_Fine_. "That One Lifetime Where Nayru Had A Definitely-Not-Boyfriend Who Worried About Everything"."

Farore shook her head so vigorously that some of her hair started coming out of the buns on her head. It made it hard to take her seriously, a twelve year old girl with her green hair flopping in front of her face. "We can't just put anything we _want_ in the history books. There are going to be children _learning_ from these books in the future. Future reincarnations of Princess Zelda will be using them! We have a _responsibility_!"

Din grinned at her. "You take your "responsibility" way too seriously, Farore."

She received a glare in return. "No I don't! How would you feel if I asked to change the season to winter just so I could build a snowman?"

The smile vanished from Din's face almost instantaneously. "One: don't even joke about that. Two: I thought you were the Oracle of Secrets, not the Oracle of Keeping History Books Boring."

"Well, regardless of what I'm the Oracle of, I'm not going to edit the books like that!" And with that, she stormed off, signalling the end of the conversation and the crushing of Din's dream.

Despite Farore's refusal to have it published, Din continued with her list. Ralph clearly recognised that _something_ was going on, not least because Din kept writing things down in a small notebook she had taken to carrying with her, but he was too busy fretting about their latest journey to give it much thought.

"But what if you get eaten by a shark?"

Din was practicing dance moves for a performance she had agreed to do when she heard this yelled through the thin walls of the cottage they had all decided to share. Nayru's voice was far quieter, and so Din had to cross the tiny room she was in to the door to make out the words. _I'm not eavesdropping_. She told herself. _I'm just worried about my friends. _

Nayru sounded tired when she answered; she had clearly been dealing with this for a while. "Ralph, sharks can't survive on land. They're not even _native_ to Hyrule." There were flecks of amusement in her voice, because there was something infinitely ridiculous about someone from the noble classes of Labrynna, standing there in his blue and gold finery, with his fancy curled shoes and his fancy pointed hat, worrying about land dwelling sharks eating his Definitely-Not-Girlfriend. Ralph, for his part, seemed incredibly frustrated that Nayru didn't understand the danger of walking sharks, the well known epidemic that was plaguing Hyrule and which his worry addled brain definitely hadn't made up. "Look, Nayru, I know you don't _think_ these things will happen, but it always does to be prepared. You can't die on my watch. I would...It would undermine my effectiveness as a bodyguard." Din had a sneaking suspicion that he had changed that line from "I would never forgive myself".

Nayru's voice stayed soft and calm, even as Ralph's rose. "There are not going to be any walking, flesh craving sharks. You needn't worry."

Din sensed a storm out in progress, and moved back to the middle of the room just as Ralph slammed the door open, yelled "don't blame me if the sharks get you!", and crossed the room to leave the cottage.

Later, she would find him curled up under a tree, tears streaming from his eyes as he constantly cursed himself for yelling at Nayru. Even later still, as she reviewed the list of worries, she came to a conclusion. Ralph worried. He worried about a lot of things, from the reasonable, to the...more unlikely.

But most of all, he worried about Nayru.


	8. The Legendary Triumph Forks

**The Legendary Triumph Forks (Wind Waker)**

_**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own this, Nintendo does**_

When Link first heard about the Triumph Forks, cooking utensils of the gods, his curiosity was piqued. It seemed such a strange thing, golden forks. So he decided to ask around the Great Sea, travelling to the fish near each island. It was just off of Outset, the isle of his birth, that he finally found a fish prepared to tell him more.

"So you want to know more about the Triumph Forks, fry?"

Link nodded eagerly. He had borrowed a pen from his grandma, and stood poised, ready to jot down any information on the back of his sea chart.

The fish cleared its throat and began the story. "Legend speaks of the Legendary Triumph Forks of Legend-"

Link spoke aloud as he wrote. "Legendary Triumph Forks of- Hey, isn't that a bit redundant?"

The fish somehow managed to convey a shrug with its minute flippers. "Hey, don't ask me, fry. This story's been going around the sea for a while, I couldn't make this up if I tried."

So the fish continued telling the story. How, after leaving the earth that they had created, the goddesses had left behind sacred forks to help only the most worthy of their creations eat food. According to the fish, the Triumph Forks were a set of three: the Triumph Fork of Power, which could spear even the toughest of meats; the Triumph Fork of Wisdom, which allowed its users to effortlessly maintain a healthy balanced diet; the Triumph Fork of Courage, which could only be earned by those brave enough to eat the strangest food.

"If you want to hear that again, you'll have to throw some more bait in the water. Sorry, fry, but that's my policy!"

Frankly, Link had spent far too much money on bait already, and since he had made notes on what the fish had told him, he shook his head. He would ask around now, see if anyone knew what use the gods would have for forks in the first place.

Unfortunately, no-one knew. The woman who ran the Windfall Café expressed the opinion that even gods had to eat. The Auctioneer simply had the view that a set of golden forks could be sold for a considerable amount; it could be one of the many items supporting him if someone found where it was (Link had a feeling that this was a hint directed at him). But no-one had a _proper_ answer. No-one was _certain_. Link went to every island on his map that people inhabited. He even asked _Beedle_.

After about a week of Link sailing around making inquiries, the King of Red Lions grew tired. He had decided to humour the boy at first; they were in no great hurry at the moment, after all, but this was getting ridiculous. So one day, as Link was poring over his sea chart, trying to figure out if he had missed an island, his boat turned around and spoke to him. "There's no such thing as the Triumph Forks. It's a mistake. They mean the Triforce."

Link stared at him for a while, before uttering a single syllable. "Oh."

Well that would certainly make a lot more sense.


	9. The Food That Nightmares Are Made Of

**The Food That Nightmares Are Made Of (Ocarina of Time)**

_**Disclaimer: Everything in this story belongs to Nintendo, as much as they might want to distance themselves**_

_**(A/N I would apologise for this, but then again I didn't have to write it in the first place)**_

_Link had to admit that it was the most devilishly handsome rock he had ever seen._

He blinked. What? Why was he contemplating the varying levels of attractiveness that different rocks possessed? Link shook his head to clear the thoughts that had latched onto his mind like a ReDead. As he climbed onto Epona's back, he absent-mindedly slipped the object of his affection, a large rounded stone, into his saddlebag.

It was only when he arrived at Lon Lon Ranch, as per his agreement with Malon to watch the sun go down with her every Wednesday, that he realised that he had inadvertently taken it with him. Link was rummaging through the saddlebag when his hand brushed against it. Confused, he brought it out of the bag and was immediately enraptured by its simple beauty. He stood, mesmerised by the stone, for quite a while, until he was brought out of his reverie by Malon calling to him from her perch on the fence surrounding the horse paddock. Link glanced up at her, trying to stop his gaze drifting back to the stone. Oh, right. He had better hurry, or else risk missing the sunset.

As he drew nearer, he noted how much like the Malon he had known after drawing the Master Sword she looked nowadays. But she would never have to experience the same misery, and for that he was grateful. She smiled as he approached, and patted the space nearest to her on the fence to indicate he could sit there. Link shook his head to yet again clear the ReDead like thoughts, before hoisting himself up onto the fence beside her. Stone still grasped in his hand, he was too lost in contemplative thought to really notice the majesty of a sky on fire as the sun sank below the horizon. _It's not as pretty as this rock_. The thoughts were back again. Every time he tried to escape them, they took on another ReDead-like trait and halted him in his tracks, never letting him leave.

After a while, he asked Malon a question. "Do you think it's weird to want to smother a stone in kisses?"

The smile of contentment that had been on Malon's face was now replaced with a look halfway between confusion and horror. "_What?_"

"I said-"

"Link, have you been eating Dampé's strange concoctions again? You know he's a gravekeeper, not a cook."

Now Link was defensive. "Hey, I checked this time. It was just cucco meat."

Malon resisted the urge to groan. "For someone who's supposedly a great hero, you're surprisingly stupid sometimes. Cuccos can't be killed by conventional means."

"So?"

"So, what would you use to kill something that tries to destroy you every time you attack its impenetrable skin?"

"Poison, I gu-oh."

"Exactly. Poison that has an effect on Hylians as well, apparently. Come on, we can go to the castle library to see if they have any information. If we hurry, we can reach Castle Town before the drawbridge closes." In one swift movement, Malon stood up, dragging Link along to mount Epona, pulling him into the saddle behind her. Malon spurred Epona on and out of the ranch, and soon they were galloping towards Castle Town.

They got to the drawbridge just as it was closing, and managed to slip inside, leaving Epona to wait for the night. By now, Link was cradling the rock and making cooing noises, so Malon made sure to quicken their pace.

Outside of the castle gates, they were halted by a guard, who demanded to know what their purpose was so late into the evening. When Malon told him that Link had eaten something he shouldn't _again, _theywere immediately let in, ushered towards the castle and Princess Zelda's chambers, which housed the library; this kind of situation had happened so often lately that a routine had been established.

Zeldahad been informed of their presence by the time they arrived. If she hadn't been, she would still have been hunched over her desk, with no time to try and hide the bags under her eyes. She raised one eyebrow at the sight of Link crooning over the stone, but said nothing until Malon had finished explaining their predicament. Finally, she sighed and shook her head. "I'm afraid that all books about cuccos were destroyed long ago, once they became a protected species for the safety of everyone around them. Unless there is somehow, miraculously, an expert still around, you might have to live with being jealous of a stone. At least until we find someone who knows something."

"Wha-I am _not_ jealous. Who said I was jealous? Besides, it's a stone. That's a stupid thing to be jealous of. And regardless of whether I'm jealous or not, this can't wait!"

"Are you sure?"

Malon's answer was cut off by Link laughing loudly and yelling. "Oh Rocky, you _do_ say the _funniest_ things!"

Zelda stifled a yawn in an attempt to maintain the illusion of wakefulness. "Well, I suppose we'd better find an expert before he starts writing love poems to that thing..."

Unfortunately, Hyrule had no such expert, so they had to make do with the old potion lady from Kakariko. She inspected Link as he stood there, grinning awkwardly, until she finally came to a conclusion and called Malon and Zelda into a huddle. They looked at her expectantly. She gave them a gummy grin. "Have you tried pouring potions down his throat until something happens?"

Zelda frowned. "Somehow, I don't think that's a very good-"

Malon interrupted her there. She had happened to glance up towards Link, and had now seen an image she could do without. "Zelda!" She hissed. "Link is...um...making out with the rock."

"Let's do this thing." At this piece of news, Zelda fluidly changed from her previous sentiment. It was at this point that Link tapped Zelda on the shoulder, so they all turned to stare at him. He shuffled his feet. "Rocky and I would like to announce our plan to marry-"

"Get him!" Zelda yelled.

In minutes, Link was restrained on the floor, potions being forced down his throat. He was being weighed down by what seemed to be an entire bookshelf of books, with Malon using her upper body strength, gleaned from years of dealing with panicked horses, to stop him struggling. After an interesting mix of potions, Link started shouting. "Let me up! Let me up! I kissed a stone! Who _knows_ what was on that thing?"

But instead of rushing to lift the books off of his limbs, Malon and Zelda glanced at each other and started giggling. Whilst they would probably stop when they found out the exorbitant price of the potions, for now they were overcome with the ridiculousness of the situation and the energy boost that came at a certain level of tiredness. That would teach Link to eat any more of Dampé's exotic "food" recipes.

Well, hopefully.


	10. Lost

**Lost (MarinxLink)**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda and probably never will**_

_**(A/N For shipping fics, I either write fluff or angsty, miserable stories. There is no inbetween)**_

It was unfortunate that it had taken so long for Link to reach dry land. Unfortunate because it had left him with nothing to listen to but the sea, an occasional gull, and his thoughts. Thoughts that were filled to the brim with Marin. He never wanted to forget anything about her. Never wanted to forget the way she laughed, the look of unadulterated joy on her face when she sang, how her one dream was to become a seagull and fly away from the island. The first day, when he had woken up, he had been so glad to see her wish granted. But after several days where, although miraculously well stocked on food and drink, he had begun to grow tired of the constant lack of company, doubt began to set in. What if he'd hallucinated it? What if the Wind Fish had shown him a lie so as to placate a potentially dangerous swordsman? Panic filled his mind and he couldn't breathe properly, almost as if he was succumbing to the fate that he had so narrowly avoided before.

On the day that he almost forgot something about Marin, he felt like crying. It was a brief but horrifying moment where he searched around desperately in his mind until he remembered what her favourite food was. Afterwards, the tears clogged up his throat but refused to flow and mix with the salt of the sea.

Link decided that when he reached land he was going to record everything he knew of her in a massive tome. Even though she had faded away, even though the world had forgotten her, he refused to wipe her from his memory.

Yet when he finally reached shore, when he finally bought a large book and the tears fell as he wrote down all the things that had made up Marin, he had to face the truth. A truth that all his time at sea, even through the doubt and sadness, he had tried to avoid. No matter how much he treasured their memories made together, they would never be able to make new ones. And suddenly Link felt unable to face the world, because Marin was gone and it was all his fault and he shouldn't have woken the Wind Fish and they'd have been fine if he had stayed with them to fight the monsters off. After this revelation, he decided to stay in the town he had been beached at.

Because if he couldn't face the world then he definitely couldn't face Zelda, who was so similar in appearance to Marin.

Because Marin was lost and so was he.


	11. Mindless

**Mindless (The Legend of Zelda)**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own a game that came out in 1986. I wasn't even born then.**_

Ganon's mind had long ago been lost to the void of oblivion. Without the Hero of Time, he had been unable to return to his form as a man. The Triforce of Power had a habit of corrupting anyone who used power without wisdom, and he had certainly done that. The thirst for more crept slowly into his brain until he hungered to possess the Triforce so much that it overrode every other thought he could have. It had pushed him out of his own head, a process only quickened by Twinrova's failed attempt to resurrect him.

So there was nothing left to feel when he was defeated by a boy in green for the last time. Just a mindless beast who's namesake had died a long time ago. But in a way, after all that, Ganondorf had won. A bittersweet victory. By causing the death of the Hero of Time, he had set Hyrule on the path towards its own destruction. A once proud kingdom now only consisted of towns dotted about the place, the only memories of the past in their names, names that came from the great sages. Perhaps, in years to come, when Hyrule had finally been wiped off the map for good, a new kingdom would arise. One with a new villain, a new hero and a new princess. It didn't really matter anymore. It was unlikely that this new place would allow for a centuries old reincarnation cycle caused by a demon king in his final breath. They would finally be free. And Ganon would have won, succeeded in his goal of taking over or destroying Hyrule.

He would have achieved more as Ganon, the mindless monster, than he ever did as Ganondorf, the calculating king.


	12. First

**First (Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link, ZeLink)**

_**Disclaimer: No, I don't own this game, either**_

It was a first for him, and maybe it was a first for her as well. She did it in a way that seemed to suggest that she had seen people do it rather than tried for herself. Zelda had a vague idea about using a tongue, but that was about it, and it wandered about, aimless and unsure, in Link's mouth. He returned the kiss just as awkwardly; he didn't know what else to do and knew it would be doubly embarrassing for both of them if he didn't. They stood like that for an uncomfortably long time. Neither wanted to be the first to break off the kiss, but neither wanted to continue, either. Eventually, they broke apart, gasping for the breath that their noses hadn't fully been able to provide for them. Zelda flipped her braided hair from her face and blushed. "I..um..thank you for waking me...again. I-I mean not _waking_ me again, but thank you...a-again. What's your name?"

He reminded her of someone from her past, with his green tunic, brown boots, and sword and shield strapped to his hat. But the hero _she_ had known, long dead by now, had always flat out refused to wear the hat. Besides, this one had brown hair, not blonde. He gave her a goofy smile as he bowed, also blushing. "Link, Hero of Hyrule, at your service, Your Highness."

Zelda seemed shocked for a moment, but quickly recovered with a smile. "Link...what a nice name. I'm Zelda...oh, but you probably already knew that."

Maybe it was the rush of adrenaline from the kiss that prompted Link to say what he did next. "Oh, it's alright. I liked hearing _you_ say it."

But Zelda didn't seem to mind. In fact, she smiled. And Link returned it with just as much vigour, because he had just got his first kiss from a princess who was beautiful in both body and mind and maybe they would fall in love in the months to come.


	13. Time

**Time (Majora's Mask)**

**Disclaimer:**_** I have nothing interesting left to say here. Nintendo owns everything here.**_

The time was counting down.

_Tick. Tock._

Forever rushing forwards. Not able to stop. Had to save them. Not enough time to save everyone. Couldn't help everyone, make everyone happy. Time...

_Tick. Tock._

Why was there so little of it? It poured through his hands as he grasped desperately at the hours, the minutes, the seconds. He lost so much when he turned back the clock again. _They_ lost so much. More than him, because he got to keep the masks and the items and the memories, but they never received the help he had given them.

_Tick. Tock._

It rushed away, disregarding all in its path as the danger grew closer, closer and the people's panic spread to envelop their minds until they were cowering in corners, crying, trying to make the death of their loved ones as blissful as possible.

_Tick. Tock._

Sometimes he wished he could give up. Just sit down and die with the rest of them. But then he returned to Clock Town again, and was overcome by the reality of everyone. He couldn't let go, not when they reminded him so much of his own country.

_Tick. Tock._

He was an adult in a child's body. He couldn't decide if that was worse then a child in an adult's body, because this time he felt so powerless to stop the eldritch creatures he faced. But he pushed on regardless, because he _had_ to do this. He_ must. _He was a hero, and heroes were unable to stop and rest when the land was in peril.

_Tick. Tock._

_Dawn of a New Day_. The most beautiful words he had ever heard anyone speak. The sky and the wind and the celebrations of the people all screamed of his success. The wonderful feeling reminded him of his purpose, and he set off on a new quest, triumphant. Riding away with all the time in the world.


	14. Frozen

**Frozen (Minish Cap, ZeLink)**

_**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda is owned by Nintendo**_

She was frozen in place, a look of shock plastered over her rough stone face. It was mirrored by the warm, very much alive face of the boy who stood opposite her, although _that_ one was soon to be replaced with steely determination. A face that would soon leave the castle, determined to stop the lilac skinned man who had placed a spell on his friend. A face with large blue eyes that would see so many things on the boy's adventures.

In all this time, the girl would be still stone, because she had been brave. Because she had stood up while everyone _else_ was frozen, and said to the villain, Vaati, _no, you can't do this. _The young boy in the green tunic stayed as still as everyone else, unable to move as Vaati cast the spell, took the life out of the princess's eyes.

He vowed that he wouldn't stay frozen the next time he faced Vaati. He would take the Four Sword, reforged from a combination of the elements and his hard work, and jam it into Vaati's smug face. _No one_ harmed his friends. Well, his _friend_. Because no one else had been prepared to understand the strange little boy whose words never made it into the outside. They stuck in his throat and couldn't get out. For them, it had always been so much easier to ignore the mute child than to learn what his rapidly gesturing hands meant. Apart from Zelda. At first, when she had visited the blacksmith's house with her father, she had worn the same expression of mild bemusement that everyone who met him for the first time possessed. Yet to his surprise she returned the next day, carrying a huge volume from the castle. When he let her in, she immediately started talking. "So I found this book of sign language and I thought it might be useful because I want to be your friend and you don't really seem to have many friends, do you? Can I stay for today so you can teach me? I'll have to go at lunch because I snuck out of the castle and they'll be wondering where I am. What do you think?"

It occurred to Link that Zelda could probably talk enough for both of them.

They became friends, and Zelda snuck out of the castle to learn and play. Sometimes the king even formally let her out to play, rather than pretending to be ignorant of her running off. And Link was happy, because here was someone who didn't care for the drawbacks of befriending him.

But now the joy in her eyes had deadened into the pupils of a frozen, lifeless statue, and if Vaati didn't change her back, he would be forced to throw something at the villain's stupid smug face until lilac faded to violet in a mask of bruises.

Fortunately, he had a hat, sitting snug on his head, who was prepared to help him. They had gotten off to a bad start; a conversation that involved desperately trying to tell a story through charades while the hat guessed cluelessly, one sided arguing, and not being completely honest with each other. But it had smoothed out, and now they were journeying to defeat Vaati and unfreeze Princess Zelda.

After the final battle, Link saw first hand Zelda returning to flesh and blood. He touched her skin to check that it was no longer ice cold. The joy bubbled up inside of him, but all he could do was grin; even the sounds he could usually make, the gasps and the laughs and everything else, were overwhelmed with happiness. Zelda was back. The first person who had ever understood him.

And because she was back, he found he was less sad when he said goodbye to Ezlo, the hat, the second friend he had had who understood him.


	15. Coward

**Coward (Ravio x Hilda)**

_**Disclaimer: A Link Between Worlds is owned by Nintendo**_

In retrospect, perhaps he should've spoken to her before he left. She wouldn't have listened to him, but the least he could have said was goodbye. But he didn't. He made the cowardly choice, because that was who he was. A coward.

Looking back, it might have been a good idea to warn Link about Hilda. After all, he was the one who would be facing her. But there were too many things unknown about that path: Link could refuse to help, he could make plans to kill her, he could avoid Lorule Castle entirely, he could face her now when he wasn't ready. Anything Ravio's worry sick imagination could conjure up, no matter how out of character it would be for the hero. So he took the cowardly option, and instead simply trilled and gushed whenever Link entered the house.

Even when Link fell in battle, he sent his assistant for the items in his place, because he was greedy and cowardly, and in no way the hero Lorule deserved. Link would just have to do for both kingdoms, he supposed.

It was only when Yuga was defeated, when Hilda was facing off against Link and Zelda with hate and desperation in her eyes, fully prepared to fight them, that he made a brave decision for the first time in his life. He intervened, revealed his black hair and green eyes and face so much like Link's, stopped Hilda. Ravio convinced them back to their own kingdom, and the fruits of this bore themselves quickly. Their Triforce was reborn from the wish of another princess and another hero. And he got to see Hilda smile. That was an important thing, a thing that he kept safe among his memories, because even as a child she had been deathly serious, fully aware of the problems their kingdom faced daily. It was on that day, that moment when he saw her smile, that Ravio decided to make the heroic decision more often. So he turned to Hilda and told her, "I'll help you rebuild the kingdom. I'll always be by your side. And this time I won't run away. Not now, not ever. I promise." He made the brave choice, because that was who he was. A hero.


	16. The Fear

**The Fear (Phantom Hourglass)**

_**Disclaimer: All characters in this fanfic are property of Nintendo**_

_**A/N I thought I should write a fic for the first Zelda game I ever played, so here ya go. (Also, big thanks to Chlstarr for pointing out my error in the last one. It's fixed now.)**_

The old men whisper about him. They say he has the fear, which is a more-or-less polite way of saying they think Linebeck is a lily-livered scumbag. He's not about to argue with them; it's kept him alive for years. Besides, he's not hurting himself (the most important thing) or anyone else (an afterthought). So he tells the men that he'll carry on being a coward, thank you very much, because the alternative is death by monster, pirate, or whatever else feels like murdering a few sailors on any given day. Better to have the Fear than a gravestone carved in your name, that's Linebeck's motto.

Unfortunately, Linebeck is a _greedy _coward, which basically means that his get rich quick schemes often result in him running away from something. He is stuck between two spike traps when he meets Link, something that negates his usual escape plan. The fairy, a tiny brat he's met once before, doesn't trust him, but Link is a Hero with a capital "H" and helps him out of his predicament.

Naturally, he repays him by running away.

Well, not _all_ the way. He gives the kid a key before leaving the temple; Linebeck is many things, but a monster he isn't.

(He tells himself that one as he runs away with the map Link needs to rescue his friend.)

Being the upright citizen that he is, Linebeck gives the kid a lift once he's been caught. Perhaps Link's heroism is starting to rub off on _him_, as well. Linebeck thinks about this as he hides inside a barrel while Link fights Jolene for him. It is the third time the kid's done it, and this time Jolene leaves a message. He wishes for the life of him he could remember it - fear tends not to leave room for minor bodily functions such as "listening to what angry pirate lady is saying".

The Fear is still there when he faces Bellum, but, even though his knees are knocking together and he can't hold the sword steady in his hands, he pushes it back and stays. Afterwards, all he'll say about the experience is that being possessed gives you a splitting headache.

When Linebeck arrives in New Hyrule, it is after many years of adventures. He buys a plot of land by the sea, buries the treasure he has amassed, and sets up a trading post. The Fear visits his dreams sometimes, more times than he'd like to admit, but this time things are different: he has the friendship of the land's rulers and he's learned that fighting against vice has it's benefits.


	17. Dark

**Dark**

_**A/N Sorry this one's a bit late! I was on holiday.**_

_**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda is property of Nintendo.**_

Tell me, young hero, are you afraid of the dark?

No?

You should be. It has the power to tempt. And no one is impervious to it, not even you. Demise's curse is intertwined with it; the dark always returns to Hyrule. You can't escape it, and it has many soldiers.

Perhaps you've heard of Vaati. Dark power changed him: a young picori was transformed into a monster with no goal other than kidnapping seven maidens. That is what we can do.

Many monsters have appeared throughout the ages because of us. You have fought all of them, even though you are unable to remember. At the moment, you are an innocent child. Soon that will change.

We are coming for you, hero. We will take your companions one by one. Maybe not yet, but we are endless. When we are stopped, we only come back with new knowledge. A reincarnation cycle cannot stop us; we are slowly finding a way to stop it. And we are patient.

Fear the dark, young hero.

Now….awaken.

_The baby opened his eyes, the words that had been whispered in his ear fading already as his mother smiled. _

"_Welcome to the world, Link."_


	18. Perhaps

**Perhaps (Ocarina of Time)**

_**Disclaimer: All of this is owned by Nintendo**_

Perhaps Ganondorf was always evil. Perhaps Demise's spirit had corrupted him beyond any hope. Perhaps he had always been cruel, ruthless, a monster.

Or perhaps not.

Those of the Gerudo who could remember his childhood said things like "he was a sweet kid", and "he wanted to help". One in particular noted that, as he grew up, he had become more bitter about the way the world worked. How was it fair that all in Hyrule should share in prosperity apart from _them_? No one trusted a Gerudo. Ganondorf was going to fix that.

He made it worse. Turns out that people will trust a group even less when the greatest evil the kingdom had ever known had stemmed from it. Of course, everyone ignored the fact that circumstances had helped fuel his anger in the first place. It's always easier to blame the oppressed when your actions force them to react. Many people dislike taking it for themselves. And blame was one of the few things Hyrule never took from the Gerudo.

Still, there remains the question of what would have happened had Ganondorf not held Demise's hatred. Perhaps the Gerudo would have succeeded in achieving fairness. Perhaps they would no longer be looked down on. Perhaps their lives would have improved.

Or perhaps not. It's no help to the present or future thinking of "what ifs", after all.


	19. Announcement (not a story)

Not a story update, but related to this collection: I'm going to start taking one shot requests. No smut or relationships involving paedophilia. Other than that, any pairing (or no pairings) and I'll try out any story idea, unless I actively despise it (i.e if it romanticizes abuse). PM me your requests, or send me an ask on Tumblr (link on my page).

In other news, I am currently writing a OC-centric Zelda fanfic called The Legacy of a Hero that is part one in a series. The first chapter will hopefully be out soon, and it also acts as a semi-continuation of _His Darkest Reflection_, as Dark Link and his relationship with Zelda is a significant part of the plot.


	20. Trains

**Trains (Spirit Tracks)**

_**(A/N Written for Thegeniusyoshi, who requested a happy Spirit Tracks fic with no pairings. I hope you enjoy this!)**_

_**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda series is property of Nintendo.**_

Ferrus loves trains. Everyone knows that. Castle Town Youth Centre For Young Youth's agreed upon rules of life are:

\- The Spirit Tracks are important

\- Linebeck will always try to swindle you

\- There are very few truly great engineers

\- Ferrus worships the very tracks that trains ride on

It's a blessing, really. If anyone needs to know a fact about trains, they'll come and ask Ferrus. He knows everything about them. Sure, there was that one mistake with Alphonso, but hey, everyone's human. Well, most people. He's pretty sure that pointed ears make you a sacred human or something, and then there's the Gorons. Ferrus has never had anything against Gorons, and in fact quite likes them, so he amends it to "everyone's a person." That'll do; it includes all of the peoples of Hyrule. Apart from the monsters. He'll probably just start saying "nobody's perfect".

* * *

Monday is the day his dreams come true. Not just any Monday, either. A special, treasured Monday where the greatest train he's ever seen (probably even including the Spirit Train), pulls up at the station outside his has beautifully intricate designs carved into its wood, and the mechanical aspects of it are near flawless and oiled to perfection. As he rushes up to meet it, a tall man steps out, looks at him, and starts speaking.

"You Ferrus?"

Ferrus squeaks in response. The man raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah?" he says. "Link tells me you're lookin' fer a train to call ya own. 'N I woz lookin' for someone ta buy mine. 'E's payed for ya, so t's all yores." He grins. "Now maybe ya can drive me t'a place ta stay?"

Ferrus squeaks again, and climbs carefully into the carriage. Everything is there, every little bit of equipment that Ferrus put effort into learning. In theory, he knows how to ride a train.

Time to test its real life effectiveness.


	21. Rupees

**Rupees (Four Swords)**

_**(A/N The second fic requested by Thegeniusyoshi. I hope you like it!)**_

_**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda series is property of Nintendo**_

The first thing Link noticed when he drew the Four Sword was that there were four of him. That was certainly….new. But then again, Zelda had warned him. Besides, having three more of him than usual couldn't be anything more than useful, right?

He was centimetres away from the rupee when the Link in the red tunic snatched it from him. No! He had been so close! By rights it should have been his, and soon Red would pay. He snarled and ran screaming at his other part, picking him up and throwing him over an edge. The magic would pull him back.

Sure enough, Red appeared alongside him, his body ready in a fighting stance. Each would make sure that he didn't hurt the other; it was only a fight for rupees. Besides, Green was going to win anyway.

Red and Green fighting meant twice as many for both of the other two, and sure enough they were calmly dividing it between themselves. At the end, after the Links had fooled their way through the pitifully easy level, Blue and Vio reached a draw for the number of rupees. Green grinned at Red and an unspoken agreement passed between them. No hard feelings.

Link had been right, with one addition. Having three more of himself than usual wasn't just helpful.

It was fun.


	22. Listen

**Listen (Ocarina of Time)**

_**Disclaimer: As always, the Legend of Zelda is property of Nintendo.**_

On the day his grand, terrible and amazing adventure started, the day Link's life changed completely (frankly, he never could decide if it was for better or worse), he was woken up by a fairy bouncing on top of him, screaming "hey!" over and over again in his ears. He forgave her for the rude and slightly painful awakening when he found out that it was about the Great Deku Tree. More or less.

* * *

Once they started fighting monsters, Link discovered that his new companion, Navi, liked shouting. A lot. "_Hey! Listen!" _Her tips against the creatures in the Great Deku Tree were useful, certainly. The first time around. But her continued cries very quickly started to grate on his nerves. He was sure that she was an entirely _nice _fairy, but Link would have appreciated a lot less noise in his ear when he was facing off with monsters that could _kill _him. When he discovered that she would accompany him on his journey, he tried to look on the bright side. Maybe the only reason she was yelling is because she thought of him as a rookie who didn't know what he was doing, and she would surely be quieter if he improved.

* * *

"_Hey! Listen!" _The cry rang in Link's ears as he desperately tried to dodge the Moblin guard in front of him, only to be driven into the water for what seemed like the millionth time. He looked at his companion expectantly, hoping for some information on this new threat.

"Didn't Darunia say something about a Fairy Fountain on Death Mountain? Maybe you should check it-"

She was cut off by a glare from Link, because, frankly, she could not have picked a _worse _time to remind him of something that required running through two villages, crossing Hyrule Field and climbing a mountain to get to.

* * *

In the final fight with Ganon, after they had travelled the realm and time itself to save Hyrule, Navi and Link stood together with a sense of companionship that remained despite their habit of getting on each other's nerves. Even though it was Link who drove the sword in for the finishing blow, and in fact did most of the fighting, it felt like they defeated Ganon as a team. He liked to think that Navi provided moral support.

* * *

Something felt wrong soon after he got back to his childhood. Really, he should have realised it immediately, but other thoughts were occupying his mind. It was only when he had left the palace that he fully noticed the silence. Well, it wasn't really _silent_, there was still the usual noise of Castle Town. But there wasn't anyone telling him to listen.

* * *

_**(A/N This will probably be my last fic for a while in this collection; I've run out of finished one-shots. If I finish one, it'll be posted here, but they definitely won't be semi-regular. I'm going to focus more on other things I'm writing, but I'm still open to any requests anyone wants to send me, the details of which are in the announcement chapter.)**_


	23. Understanding

_**(A/N Oh hey I'm back again. And this time I've got a fic that sort of...vaguely relates to a story I'm planning out in my head. Which I will get around to writing, eventually)**_

_**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda series is property of Nintendo**_

**Understanding**

The hero is arguing again. There are screams and yells and someone crying, and, in the midst of it all, their mother saying, "oh, sweetie, you can't _really _be a girl, because you're the chosen hero." She says it like it's obvious, like a reincarnated spirit has a specific gender that it must conform to every time.

Nayru, listening in the other room, _understands_, as much as the little individuality she has left allows the one singular Nayru to understand. Because while she is also a little girl whose family members are constantly arguing, she is also a young woman who can feel the warmth of her companion Din's kisses on her lips, and someone who doesn't feel as if they fit in their own body, and a thousand other things.

The second one is exactly _why _she understands, far more than their uncompromising mother ever will. But she is also still the little girl, one who doesn't want her mother to be angry at _her, _too. So she says nothing, and just listens.

* * *

Nayru thinks her sister (because no matter what their mother says, she _isn't_ a boy) understands _her_, as well. One day, after a particularly bad argument, the hero looks at Nayru and says, "I bet _you _don't think I'm a boy."

Nayru says nothing, but she has a feeling that the hero knows her answer.

Their mother treats Nayru like a child, but her sister understands that she can remember back thousands of years. Sometimes she sits besides Nayru and asks for her to tell her stories. Stories of past heroes, of the villains, and most of all, stories of Din.

Din is a special part of Nayru's life. Sometimes they fall in love and sometimes they don't, and sometimes the conflicting emotions of all her past lives cause Nayru to crawl into her sister's bed at night with a tear streaked face. Their mother wouldn't understand, but the hero does, in a way, and Nayru appreciates the arms that hold her when she cries herself to sleep. Her sister will never know what it's like to feel like a young girl and someone as old as time all at once, but she's there in a way that no-one else is.

* * *

They are older in a way that isn't quite tangible to Nayru when her sister comes into her bedroom crying and asks, with desperation in her tone, whether Din would think she was a girl. Nayru thinks back to the time when her body hadn't felt like her own, and how Din had smiled and offered a place for Nayru to stay in lieu of her unaccepting family.

She says yes, and the hero's face lights up in a way it hasn't in a long time.

They sit on the bed and talk about nothing much until the tear tracks dry and the hero is smiling and laughing again.

* * *

The Demon King is back, and this time there isn't anyone to stop him. Their mother won't let them out of the house, but Nayru has had a vaguely disturbing vision where her death is linked to Ganondorf leaving, so she sneaks out one day, to the place where Hyrule's soldiers are fighting. It's a bad idea; one wrong move and she finds herself standing in front of the Demon King himself. That in itself isn't the bad part, because she wanted it to happen and she hopes it will make him go. The bad part is when he draws back his spear and she closes her eyes ready to die too young for the body she's in and-

Her sister shoves her out of the way, and Nayru watches the light fade from her eyes as Ganon lifts her body up as a trophy. There's a faint smile on her lips, something that's meant to reassure Nayru, no doubt, but causes tears to fall instead. Ganondorf looks at her mockingly and screams some declaration about the hero's death. Nayru isn't really paying attention; she's too busy stumbling away from the carnage, past the shocked soldiers on both sides, but the word _he _permeates through her grief and it makes her feel sick, the idea that even in death her sister won't be remembered properly.

* * *

At the funeral there's a lot of talk about the brave young man, a hero who fell too soon. Nayru can only stare at the grave with a _boy's_ name on it and think about how it's all her fault. She'll have to go find the princess now, and together they may be able to defeat Ganon. But for now, she just stares. Around her, the people of Hyrule mourn the hero who was supposed to save them, and her mother cries for a son who never really existed in the first place. It is only Nayru who grieves for her sister. As the sun sets below the horizon, she turns and walks away from the funeral and her mother, because she is the Oracle of Ages and she has a mistake to fix.


End file.
